vendredi 22 janvier 2016

Frost Flowers: my Top 10 Scents for the Winter of 2016

After
a creepily balmy Christmas both in Montreal and Paris, winter has come back
with a bite. This is a time, traditionally, to pull out our sultriest ambers (Nicolaï’s
Ambre Cashmere is a recent favorite) and
to crank up the heat with scorching spices (Aedes’ Oeillet Bengale is still going strong).But
for a change, and because I can’t say I’ve found new loves since our Top 10 of
2015 a couple of weeks ago, I’ve decided to dig into my collection to pull out
scents that conjure snow, frost, ice or winter skies. As fuzzy an object as ever
was, scent is uniquely ductile when it comes to lending itself to all sorts of
similes and metaphors, so why not indulge in the exercise?

N°22 (Chanel)

If
Ernest Beaux famously said he conceived N°5
while thinking of the icy lakes and rivers of the Arctic Circle, N°22, created in the same series, can
similarly conjure images of winter: a blizzard in a hothouse, frosty aldehydes
settling on white petals in a creamy swirl.

N°18 (Chanel)

As
limpid as an icicle tinged by dawn with pink and mauve (rosy ambrette, powdery
iris), N°18 is a paradox: a scent
with tremendous character that somehow has the transparency of a non-scent.(Click here for the full review)

Eau Aztèque (Iunx)

In
your next Paris perfume pilgrimage, hop over to the Left Bank, where Olivia
Giacobetti reopened a boutique dedicated to her brand Iunx. On my first visit,
I impulse-bought Eau Aztèque, sold as
“a water to fly from winter to summer”. A work on ambrette and rose like N°18, though rather than ice, its
rosewater and vanilla-laced musk evokes the comforting fluffiness of a
freshly-fallen coat of snow.

Cuir d’Ange (Hermès)

Jean-Claude
Ellena’s floral leather conjures the pristine flurries that we Quebeckers call poudrerie – powdery snow blown upwards
from snowdrifts by gusts of wind. Or by the white wings of angels? (Click here for the full review)

de Bachmakov (The Different Company)

A
tribute to its co-founder Thierry de Bachmakov’s Russian roots and one of
Céline Ellena’s last collaborations with the brand, this limpid scent still
stands as one of its best offerings. A blade of bison grass shooting through an
icy pond; the peppery burn of Artic winds; the serenity of the steppe.

Shalimar Eau de Cologne (Guerlain)

Unlike
the moist floral Souffle de Parfum, which
strayed so far from the original it barely deserved to bear its name, this Eau de Cologne is recognizably Shalimar, though with a sharper, lemon sherbet-y
bite: the tang of a snowflake melting on the tongue.

Alaïa Paris (Alaïa)

The
Tunisian-born designer’s brief was cool water splashing on a burning wall, yet
something of Alaïa Paris’s original
take on aquatic – mineral and inky rather than iodic or melony – reminds me of
the smell of snow. (Click here for the full review)

Noël (Annick Goutal)

Christmas
may be behind us, but I’ll be clinging to my Noël scent diffuser (reeds in a bottle of scented oil) as long as
my heater’s on. With its raspy green effects and candied fruit notes, Noël brings out the connection between mandarin
rind and fir resin. This is a yearly limited edition, but it still seems to be
available.

Filles en Aiguille (Serge Lutens)

The
aiguilles in the name may refer to sewing
needles or stilettoes, but the scent draws us straight into the coniferous forests
of fairy tales – there be ogres, witches and bears out there… A simple,
salubrious and oddly comforting blend.(Click here for the full review)

Wazamba
(Parfum d’Empire)

Though named after a West-African
musical instrument and a blend of essences sacred to various cultures, Wazamba also brings to mind wintery pine
forests – its aldehydic incense accord a cold, mineral note underlying the
warmth of balsams, with a wisp of smoke rising from some distant hearth… (Click here for the full review)

Several favorites here, including Noël, which I have as votive candles. I'm more and more impressed with Cuir d'Ange every time I wear it. Eau Aztèque sounds very tempting.

Oh, and I managed to get samples of five Orlov perfumes after reading about Cross of Asia on your annual list. I've tried three so far and think they are all really lovely. It's wonderful to see a new line foster such good work. nozknoz

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Denyse Beaulieu

I am a writer and translator based in Paris, as well as the perfume editor for Citizen K. My book The Perfume Lover, A Personal History of Scent is published by Harper Collins (UK), St. Martin's Press (USA) and Penguin (Canada). The perfume linked to the book,Séville à l'aube, was composed by Bertrand Duchaufour for L'Artisan Parfumeur.